Week 13: Rivalry Week

Rivalry (n): a person [or team] who is competing for the same object or goal as another, or who tries to outdo another; competitor. Synonyms: antagonism; jealousy. Yea...and you might add in "hatred", "bitterness", and "really great football". Next to bowl season I'd have to say I enjoy rivalry week the most, and this week was no exception. Even a fan of just the game itself, with no favorite team, had to love this Thanksgiving weekend of some great games.

This week we saw...

• ...Auburn fall behind 21 - 0 only to show (again) they just need more pre-game warm-up time.
• ...LSU's luck finally ran out. Hey, it couldn't last forever.
• ...the last true Holy War live up to its reputation and hype: a 1-point win, a last-second blocked field goal and a very poor "further review" decision.
• ...Boise State's dream season and national title hopes dashed by a very determined, well executed 4-year plan by Nevada to stop the Broncos.
• ...two conferences end up in 3-way ties (Big Ten, Big 12 - South) leaving the decision to the precious BCS rankings.
• ...a good Miami coach get fired (apparently winning is everything if you are a college football coach).
• ... the Big East finally get a ranked team (West Va) but that team will likely NOT be the one winning the conference title and going to the BCS game.
• ...six teams from non-AQ conferences are ranked in the Top 25.

EndZone: "Play for 60-minutes"

I've grown weary of this catch phrase and decided that its use should cease (yes...I'm guilty). Teams always play for 60-minutes. That's the rule; they have to. Utah only scored in the 4th quarter and some would even say they didn't play for 60-minutes...yet they won. Auburn didn't play for the first one-and-a-half quarters...yet they won. In fact, one could argue that #1 Oregon and #2 Auburn never play 60-minutes; both are "second half teams" that pour it on in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Boise played all four quarters and OT...yet they lost, but to a team that others would say did play for 60-minutes and OT. And, BYU played for 60 minutes...yet lost (but it was way poor 3rd-quarter play calling, not the players, that lost that game).

What is really meant, and thus what should be said, is "Play at your highest level for 60-minutes". Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Week 12: Winding Down

With all the undefeated teams idle this week and Boise taking care of Fresno on Friday, it was a Saturday for everyone else to make their statement. This probably did not hurt Oregon or Auburn but TCU's absence from the scene allowed Boise to take the #3 spot (that and the fact that OSU and VaTech both had wins over semi-quality opponents).

The Big 10 remains in a 3-way tie but we don't know if any are really any good. It'll take the bowl games to make that decision and it looks as if they'll have at least three going to bowls. Speaking of which... mathematically, the PAC-10 may send only three teams to bowls. Maybe it's a good thing they are expanding to 12 teams. Overall right now there are 70 bowls but only 64 eligible teams.

LSU and Arkansas relied on near miracles to pull out their wins. That's always fun every once in a while but LSU's high ranking comes from their multiple, lucky, last-minute, "it's a miracle" wins.

VaTech brought home the ACC Coastal title and I am glad. I want them to win the ACC as it will add fuel to the BCS fire (VaTech getting a big BCS bowl berth after losing to a FCS school). That's gotta be something the BCS never even imagined possible 12 years ago. Never say never.

Predictions for this Thanksgiving week:

->Auburn gets trounced by 'Bama

->BYU squeaks by Utah

->BSU hammers Nevada silly putting BSU in line for the title game with Auburn's loss

->OK State will finally win the Big 12 South

->LSU's luck runs out against Arkansas

->Florida falls to Florida State

->Georgia beats GaTech handily

Week 11: Stupid

Sometimes, probably once or twice a year, I just have to do a whole separate post on something so unbelievable I just can't include it with my regular weekly post. Here is the first such posting this year.

I know my hindsight is 20/20 and my rants about heat-of-the-moment antics of coaches or players are things I may have even done myself . But not this one. I was watching it live and appalled at the lack of common sense of Auburn's head coach, Gene Chizik. Now let me first say that Auburn obviously has a team and great coaching staff and I give their play-calling and D-line a standing ovation for Saturday's performance. But what happened to their brains in the final two minutes remains a mystery.

There's ~2-minutes left in the game, Auburn has the win in hand but Georgia is driving for a "maybe it won't look so bad" score when their QB (Aaron Moore) gets knocked down byAuburn's Nick Fairly, who' d already been in his face all day l-o-n-g (including a couple of late sucker hits). This time it was fair but big boy Fairly, while falling, hit his giant noggin on Moore's knee / shin sending Moore to the ground reeling in pain. Moore limps off the field and the #2 QB is called in to finish up.

On the next play, the UGA O-line decides to gang up on Fairly for a little revenge. Maybe it was a little much but they did nothing illegal and, hey, it's football. But it did cause a bit of post-play ruckus resulting in a 15-yard UGA penalty and an Auburn ejection (for throwing a punch). Then to rile up UGA some more, during the penalty calling by the ref, Fairly has the fence-post sense to do a little celebration jig about UGA's penalty (although the refs don't notice).

Now at this point, it's obvious (at least to me) that things are a little too chippy out there, emotions are high, the kids are tired, and the coach better pull these guys off the field for the final minute and put in some 2nd- and 3rd-stringers. But no, Chizik just puts Fairly right back out there, giving the UGA O-line another shot at him...resulting in another post-play scuffle...and anotherAuburn ejection (but no UGA penalty).

Up next? Chizik and Auburn face their in-state, Iron Bowl rival, #10 Alabama --- minus two defensive starters for the first half. "Stupid" is the only word I can think to use...and it fits.

Weeks 10 & 11: November Pressure

In September we watch teams figuring themselves out. October brings stability and poll settling. But November...that is when real football is played. The pressure of holding your spot in the polls, getting bowl-eligible, style points to convert your win into extra BCS points, rivalry games, and even pulling for certain opponents to help you move north in the polls. Yesterday we watched three of the four un-defeated teams toy with a loss. Yea, November is the MONEY MONTH.

This is what we saw out of the first two Saturdays of Money Month:

Week 10:

1. Utah's weak schedule was exposed. TCU dominated start-to-finish and embarrassed the obviously over-rated Utes.

2. BYU finally showed some signs of life...and hopefully signs of the next few years. The defense excelled and the offense began to look almost dominant.

3. LSU showed that although player skills is important, coaching skills (play calling) can make up for mediocre player skills.

Week 11:

1. See #1 above (except underline and bold the word "embarrassed").

2. See #2 above (except underline and bold "excelled" and "dominant").

3. Georgia's AJ Green is near super-human...and Auburn's Cam Newton is super-human.

4. Spurrier has got big, impressive things going on in South Carolina.

EndZone

And speaking of Money Month: What is going on with college football and money? We learn this week that Cam Newton's father allegedly asked for money to send his son to Mississippi State. It's bad enough that we have these kids taking money to play from low-life agents and lower-life boosters, but since when did the parents get in on the action? I honestly hope it is all a big lie because I hate to even think that our game, its traditions and indeed the whole fabric of college football society might be reaching such a low point.